Grow Your Own Magazine

Having seen some of the replies to M&MBM regarding blight I am now a bit worried about my potato sacks. I have 8 bags dotted among my OH shrubs. I have made drainage holes and I do water them. Have other grapes had blight when growing in sacks. I wonder because obviously the moisture is probably retained better in a sack than in the ground and if wet weather can cause blight can a watering can do it too. Should I keep sticking my finger in to test the soil? How damp should it be, do they prefer it drier? Sanjo

Hi Sanjo, where in Essex are you?

I have tomatoes in sacks and yes I got blight! friend had potatoes in sacks in garden- no blight!

I have used the same sack outers this year, but changed the compost as chance I have to take!

Blight seems to be air borne, not sure if it stays in the soil/sacks, this is why I am testing it out this year with re-using the same sacks, just to see what happens.

Hello Headfry. Thanks for reply. Hornchurch in Essex. Sacks are just old compost sacks turned inside out so black on the outside. Trying to keep the garden a bit tidy as they are sitting among my husbands shrubby border. I am actually growing them in soil. Look very healthy at the moment and I haven't gone too mad with the watering despite the fact that we have just had a long very hot dry spell. Suddenly thought when I saw the replies to M&mbm that the bags might get a bit humid. I do have the tops open though. Ah well, all life is a gamble eh? I'll just have to see what happens. I have just asked my OH if he minds if I plant my purple sprouting broccoli in the flower bed outside the conservatory as I have run out of room in my veggie patch.Bless him, he doesn't mind in the least and wondered why I thought he would!!. Sanjo

I expect the only condition to the brocoli/flower bed issue is that you feed him with the result!

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Blight is an air-borne fungus which needs the leaves of its victims to be wet in order to infect the plant. It doesn't come upwards from the soil unless you have old infected material in it.

Therefore, there is no difference in the likelihood of infection between sack-grown or ground-grown potatoes. If blight hits, the only plants which will avoid it would be those grown undercover.

Remember that PSB is a very big plant - about 1.5 m height and 60-70cm spread. Don't make it compete for water and nutrients.

Thanks everyone. Very helpful. Thanks for reminder cutecumber. It's true it's not a very big border but I should get 4 PSBs in there and it will be handy for harvesting too, especially outside the back door when it snows!! As for OH eating my veg. He will, under sufferance but he is not a veggie eater,even my runners he'll only tolerate whereas I and my grandaughter eat them straight off the plants as if they are apples. Can't have enough of them. Thanks again all.